These Moments
by Fred Weasley's Forever
Summary: A collection of quintessential moments throughout the intertwining lives of Fred Weasley and Kace Anderson.
1. First Sight

FRED'S POV:

I toyed with the fork in my hand and turned to George. "When are they letting all the first years in?"

This year, our little brother, Ron, would be entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In answering, a loud pounding of a hundred feet sounded down the corridor to the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall, followed by a large crowd of first years, strode into the room. Professor McGonagall walked gracefully with her head held up proudly. The first years walked timidly and looked around, uncertainly and shyly.

I looked through them, trying to spot my red-headed little sis- er… brother. I gave up and tried paying a little attention to the introduction and sorting of the first years.

A few boys and girls walked nervously up to the stool and turned red when they noticed all the eyes on them.

"Harry Potter." Professor McGonagall announced, causing whispers and murmurings of old rumors to circulate through the hall.

A little boy with messy black hair and circular glasses stumbled up the short staircase to the stool. When the sorting hat was placed on his head, it seemed to be having a conversation with him, though I couldn't hear what was being said. Finally, the hat announced that he would be placed in Gryffindor, with George and I.

Ron was sorted, also into Gryffindor (not much of a surprise).

There were very few kids (6 or 7 at the most) still standing awkwardly at the foot of the stairs, some shifting their weight uncomfortably, others squeezing their sweaty hands together over and over.

"KC Anderson." Professor McGonagall called out.

A short girl with long straight black hair walked through the few kids still standing there and walked up to the stool. She was the only one who hadn't tripped over the bottom of her robes or faltered in her steps. She walked gracefully and purposefully, reaching her destination with ease. The sorting hat was placed on her head and took only a second to consider.

"Gryffindor!"

A bunch of people in Gryffindor cheered as the hat was lifted from her head and her face was finally revealed.

The black hair framed a pale face with a few freckles and a pair of bright blue eyes. Her full red lips curled up in a tiny smile but other than that, her face gave away no emotion.

She hopped off the stool, her hair lifting in the sudden breeze created by her movement and then falling back into place. She walked to the long Gryffindor table and sat beside a girl with light brown hair and green eyes.

I tried to hide the way eyes lingered on her. She looked up from talking with her friend and right into my eyes. Hers were alight with curiosity. I was shocked by their depth. I could feel my face heat up and then George nudged me.

I unwillingly dragged my eyes from hers and looked back at George.

"Worried about Ron already, Freddie?" he teased. He must've mistaken the direction of my stares.

"Yeah right. I'm waiting for him to do something stupid that we can use to make fun of him for the rest of his career at Hogwarts."

George nodded, as if he had expected this from the beginning and grinned.


	2. Fred and the Gaggle of Giggling Girls

_FRED'S POV:_

_I saw very little of KC for her first year at Hogwarts, only catching little glimpses of her in the corridors outside classes, a few times in the common room, and a little at meals in the Great Hall. We never spoke, hardly made eye contact, but still, my heart reacted to her. Over the summer, I thought about her and waited anxiously for school to start. George thought of my anticipation for being cast back into a learning environment as complete psychosis. _

_We boarded the Hogwarts express and George and I chose a large, empty cabin to sit in. _

_As it turned out, today was my lucky day. _

_Shortly after sitting down and shoving out luggage up onto the overhead racks, I saw a blur of black hair race past. I knew it was her. No one had hair quite so black. I frowned as I saw she wasn't going to stop, but then smiled. I had finally seen her again (even if it was just a small glance at her small, running body). _

_I leaned my head against the cold window pane and looked out into the sea of worried parents' faces. _

_"Excuse me." came a small, unfamiliar voice. _

_I looked up to where the voice came from. It took a moment for my shocked brain to process the fact that it was her. KC. _

_She looked at me and said, "Do you mind if me and my friend sit here? Everywhere else is full." _

_I cleared my throat and blinked a few times. "No, of course not. Go ahead." _

_She smiled warmly and motioned to her friend. It was the short one with light brown hair. _

_KC sat beside me and her friend sat across from her beside George. She seemed kind of shy near him. I smiled knowingly, tilting my head down to hide the smirk. _

_"You're KC, right?" I said, turning to her and trying to make conversation. _

_She nodded and held out her hand. "Call me Kace." _

_I smiled and said, "I'm-" _

_She interrupted with a chuckle. "Oh I know who you are." _

_I smiled wider at that. "You do?" _

_"Well, sure. But I don't know which you you are. You could be Fred or you could be George." She looked at me speculatively. Then she turned her attention to George. "Hmm…" she said quietly, resting her chin in her hand. "Fred?" she said finally, turning to me. _

_I nodded, smiling and trying desperately to ignore the way my heart flopped around when she said my name. _

_The rest of the ride, she sat reading some book. I tried to make my inspection of her inconspicuous. I noted every detail, from the black highlights that ringed her eyes and sometimes spiked out into the blue, down to the way she chewed her bottom lip when she concentrated. _

_When the train stopped, I helped her with her trunk, my pulse jumping when our hands touched. Hers were icy and very pale. _

_"You're hands are so cold." I said, not really meaning to talk. _

_"Yeah, they always are." she said, looking down at one hand and using the other to push a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. _

_I frowned and pulled my gloves off, pulling them down over her hands. They were blue and knitted by my mother. _

_She smiled up at me. "Thanks." _

_I grinned in answering. _

_"So are you one of Ron's friends?" George asked her as we all walked toward the castle. _

_"I guess you could say that. I've only talked to him a few times, but Penny knows him better than I do." Kace answered, gesturing to her friend. _

_George looked down at her and smiled, making her blush and look around. "Yeah, I had him in a lot of my classes last year. I had to help him on quite a few projects." She rolled her eyes and George animatedly launched into a story about the time he and I had tricked Ron into thinking we were actually helping him on something when actually, we were giving him the complete opposite answer. _

_The two of them soon fell far behind us. _

_Kace rolled her eyes, smiling. "She's so transparent." _

_I was confused. "What?" _

_She looked alarmed, as if she hadn't meant to actually say that out loud. "Well, its completely obviously that she fancies him. She isn't trying very hard to hide it." _

_I nodded, noting the way George was looking at her. It was obvious in his case as well. 'They will be together before the first month here at Hogwarts.' I thought, almost laughing to myself._

_A large group of second year girls were waiting at the door of the school, waving to Kace and Penny. _

_"Oh, I guess, I'll see you around?" Kace asked, turning to me and putting her hand on my arm. She sounded hopeful, like she enjoyed my company. _

_I nodded, smiling breathlessly. _

_She turned to run to them, but then stopped and turned back to me. She held out the gloves. "Here." _

_I held up a hand and waved her offer away. "My mum makes things like that all the time and she loves doing it, I'm sure it wont be hard to get another pair. Besides, I think you need them more than I do." _

_She considered for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Bye, Fred!" _

_Off she went, to the gaggle of giggling girls. _

_I turned around and saw Penny looking up just in time to see all the other girls waving for her to join them. "Oh, I guess I should probably go. So I'll see you later." _

_They both started to hold up their arms like they were going to hug, then, before it was too obvious what they were about to do, dropped their arms and shook hands professionally. Penny dashed away and George was left staring after her, oblivious to anything else. _

_"Oh, Georgie. You've made a rookie mistake." _

_He looked up at this. "And what mistake might that be, Fred?" George asked as we started walking again. _

_"You're falling for someone two years younger than you. That is sure to cause some problems." _

_George blushed but said, "Oh, but, dear brother, you're far worse." _

_I looked at him, stricken. _

_"Don't think I didn't notice you eyeing her when she was being sorted at the beginning of last year. And anytime her name is so much as uttered, you fall all over yourself trying to get every detail of whatever is being said. Yes, I think you're much worse off than I am, Fred." _

_I looked down, trying to hide my blush and mumbled, "Shut up." _

_KACE'S POV:_

_I clutched the gloves to my chest and tried to steady my breathing. _

_The sky outside my window was growing darker and darker as the night wore on. _

_I smiled to myself, wondering when I would get to see that Fred Weasley again and fell into a sleep so deep, I had no dreams. I only saw Fred, smiling at me sweetly. _


	3. The Mirror

KACE'S POV:

I sat in the Great Hall, nibbling on the food that was lain out in front of us. I looked up into a pair of warm, brown eyes.

"Hey, Fred." I said, smiling as he sat down across from me. George was there, too, sitting opposite Penny.

For the most part, I hadn't really seen much of Fred or George up until now. I had thought I might explode if I didn't get another chance to talk to him for remaining half of a year until summer.

"Its been a while." Fred commented, smiling back.

"Yeah, and why is that?" I asked, suspicious that maybe he had been avoiding me. It would make sense. He probably knew I liked him and thought I was just some stupid kid. I stared down at my plate and poked at something with a fork while I waited for his response.

"I don't really know, I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."

I looked up at that. So maybe he wasn't trying to stay away from me.

"Nope." I answered, taking a gulp of pumpkin juice from my cup.

"Well, we should fix that. If we are going to be friends, we have to spend time with each other and talk, right?"

I was beginning to like this train of thought. "Right. So we will make time to talk and stuff?"

Fred nodded. George and Penny agreed, also. But they were probably only doing so to get closer to the other.

I smiled a little.

FRED'S POV:

I boarded the train for yet another year at Hogwarts. But this time, I was expecting to see Kace rather than just hoping to. Over the past year, we had become very good friends. She even aided me in playing practical jokes on some of the professors.

I couldn't wait to see her reaction to me this year; I had changed a lot over the summer. I was taller this year and my face had lost some of its roundness. My hair was styled differently. It was still bright red, but now it was shorter, the front of it just reaching the tops of my eyes when I brushed it down. But for some reason or another, the front always stuck up. I hoped she liked the change.

"Hey, stranger." The voice was familiar but different than the way I remembered. It had grown some since I had last heard it. I looked up to see Kace standing awkwardly in the compartment doorway.

"Kace." I said, smiling and standing up.

"Wow, look at you. You're all… different." she said, shaking her head in amazement.

Her hair was much longer this year, reaching nearly all the way down her back. Her eyes were darker, but they were still incredibly dark. Her face was a little less round than last year but her cheeks were still a little more circular than most adults.

"So are you." I said, holding my arms out.

She stepped forward and hugged me tightly.

George stood up then. George and Kace had grown closer, as well. George was now like her big brother instead of the twin tagalong.

"Okay, okay. You cant give him a hug and not give me one." he joked, smiling crookedly.

She gave him and hug and squeezed his body (just as tall as mine) tight. I looked away, hoping she couldn't see the jealousy there.

"Sorry I'm late guys, it was really crowded out there and - holy…" Penny didn't finish her sentence. "You guys sure did get tall."

We were always taller than the girls, but now they only came up to a little below our shoulders.

Penny had changed, too. She was a little taller than last year, but not much. Her hair had started curling and her blush was always present. Both girls had developed curves but I tried not to notice and be a morally right person.

George timidly hugged Penny and blushed a little then we all sat back down, telling stories of our summer.

KACE'S POV:

There was a change in Fred. Not a bad change. He seemed more confident and honestly a little more attractive. His smile was more mischievous (if that was possible) and his voice was deeper.

I wanted very badly to grab his hand and hold it in mine. But I knew he wouldn't react very well to that. He didn't want me the way I wanted him.

LATER THAT YEAR

The school was being locked down. Sirius Black was on the loose and had been in Hogwarts.

I stuck with Fred, George, and Penny. We didn't follow as all the students stayed in the Great Hall. We stayed in the library, feeling the need to prove that we didn't need the school's protection and we could stand up for ourselves in the face of danger.

Nobody came through the library. Not even Filtch dared leave the Great Hall.

We all had blankets laid out on the floor between two bookcases. The blankets were laid in a square formation. George and Penny had rolled around so much they were about to kiss in their sleep.

"You awake?" I heard Fred whisper in the darkness.

"Yeah." I whispered back, staring up at the ceiling.

Fred's leaned over my face, blocking my view of the rafters with his infuriatingly handsome face. I started to sit up and then rolled over onto my stomach, supporting my head with my hands.

"Cant sleep?" Fred asked, looking worried.

I shook my head.

"Me neither. Want to go see if there's anything interesting to do in here?"

Failing to see any problem with this, I nodded and hopped up. We walked around silently for a while, our eyes already adjusted to the dimness. We walked farther and farther into the library, still not seeing anything interesting.

"Wait," Fred said, grabbing my wrist when I turned around. "What's that?"

I looked to where he was pointing and at first saw nothing. But as I got closer, I saw that there was a definable lining in the shape of a door against one wall. We walked through the door way and into a large room, bare but for the object covered in a dusty sheet. There was a large window from which moonlight poured.

"What is this place?" Fred asked quietly, his voice echoing through the empty room.

"What is that?" I asked, inching closer to the shrouded object. I was in touching distance now. I lifted a hand to grab the sheet and pull it down and as my hand got closer, the object began to glow beneath the sheet. I gasped, but pulled the sheet down anyway.

Fred spun around and walked to me. It was a mirror. Around the frame was an inscription. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi"

"What does it mean?" Fred asked, staring at the mirror's edge same as I was.

"I don't know. I wish we knew what language it was in, then we might be able to find a book on it in the library…" A sudden thought struck me. I pulled out the ink pen I always carried with me and rolled my sleeve up. I wrote down the words backwards and took out every space.

It turned out like this: "".

Fred couldn't get at the right angle to properly read my scribbles so I read aloud, "I show not your face, but your heart's desire."

It was then that I looked up into the mirror. It showed both Fred and myself. At first, I thought maybe it wasn't working. But then I noticed something else. We were holding hands. And then, Fred pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms as far around me as they could go. He leaned his face down and kissed me full on the mouth.

I blushed and looked up in alarm, wondering if he had seen that. He, too, was staring at the mirror. 'Well, if it shows your heart's desire then maybe it is showing him something different.' I thought.

Finally, he looked down at me. "Did you just see-?" he pointed to the mirror.

"Did I just see what?" I asked, hoping he would say anything other than what I had actually saw.

He hesitated. "Nothing. Never mind." He shook his head.

I nodded and shivered. "Lets get out of here."

FRED'S POV:

I wondered if she had seen my heart's desire. Me and her, holding each other and kissing. I hoped not. That would be embarrassing. There was no way she felt the same way. But I had to find out.

Just before she made her way back out the door, I grabbed her wrist. "Kace?"

She turned back. "Yes?"

I looked down at her hand, not being able to meet her eyes. "What did you see? In the mirror?"

She laughed breathily. "Well, that's not really any of your business, now is it?" She sounded defensive.

I pulled her over to the center of the room and sat down on the wood floor.

"Its not like I'm going to tell anybody. If you tell me, it doesn't leave this room. We don't even have to talk about it." I looked up then.

She was looking down at the floor. "Okay. I saw… This is going to sound ridiculous. I saw you… and me. But we were… _together_. We were kissing and hugging and stuff." She didn't look back up.

"Oh." was all I could seem to get out of my mouth.

Her whole face was red. She stood up quickly and said, "I knew it. Now you think I'm just some creepy little kid and now things are going to be awkward between us… I shouldn't have told you!" she cried, running from the room.

"Kace, wait!" I yelled after her.

I looked back to the image in the mirror. It was the same as before.

"Same here." I whispered into the darkness.


	4. The Question

FRED'S POV:

The whole Sirius Black issue was cleared up and the school went back to normal. I didn't get a chance to ever talk to Kace in private about what had happened with the mirror, but when summer rolled around, I assumed she had forgotten about it.

Then next year, Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament. Cederic Diggory was representing Hogwarts, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbaton, and the famous Viktor Krum from Durmstrang. Somehow, Harry's name also got drawn out of the Goblet of Fire, though he swears up and down he didn't enter himself into the competition.

It wasn't Harry's unexpected (not to mention very illegal) entrance to the Triwizard Tournament that disturbed me. It was the fact that I hadn't talked to Kace since last year. She hadn't even rode in the same compartment as George, Penny, and I. I had seen her in the halls a few times, but I never got to talk to her.

I still had the events in the mirror room on my mind. I knew I had to talk to her and soon, and just when I thought I would never get to talk to her again, I was given an opportunity. The Yule Ball.

George had already asked Penny, saying that they may as well go together if they didn't already have dates. Penny had agreed, of course.

I walked through the halls, hoping to find Kace. Sure enough, she was in the library reading a book for potions class.

"Kace?" I said when she didn't look up.

She jumped, startled. She looked up at me and blushed deep red. "Hey, Fred." She looked back down.

I sat in a chair beside her. "Kace, why haven't we talked or even seen each other since last year? I thought we were supposed to be best friends."

She looked up guiltily. "I figured you wouldn't want to hang out with some creepy 4th year." she explained.

I shook my head frowning. "Kace, we are best friends. Even if you were creepy (which you're not) I would still want to hang out with you."

She half-smiled but apparently the events that had passed in front of the mirror of Erised hadn't completely left her mind.

"But anyways, I came to ask you something."

She looked up, suddenly frightened-looking.

I was very nervous and had to force my voice to stay steady and my tone to stay light-hearted.

"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me, Kace?"

She took a second to make sure she had heard right and I waited, holding my breath.

"Yes." she finally said.

"Okay, good." I smiled and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you there."

She nodded.

I started to turn away and go back to the common room, but then I changed my mind and turned back. I quickly leaned in and pecked her on her cheek.

Then I darted out of the room, my heart pounding so hard it was almost painful. But the joy I felt overpowered that. Like I said, almost.


	5. The Ball

KACE'S POV:

I hadn't talked to Fred since last year and it was odd talking to him again after all that time. And for him to have asked me to the Yule Ball was even more strange.

I had been planning on going of course, but without a date (unless someone asked me) so I already had my dress picked out. It was a long, light blue color that matched my eyes. The sleeves were short and it was backless. I fixed my hair up differently than normal, curling it and pinning the right side up. My heels weren't very tall and would put me at about Fred's shoulder's height.

I walked slowly downstairs on the night of the ball with Penny. She was wearing a long red dress with sparkles near the bottom. George would love it, I was sure.

The boys were waiting down in the Great Hall. They were facing the stage where the bands would be playing.

Penny tapped George on his shoulder and he turned, smiling at her and gave her a big hug, inconspicuously appreciating her dress.

Before Fred could turn, too, I put my hands over his eyes.

George helped me and lowered his voice in a way that made it unrecognizable. "Guess who."

I mouthed "thank you" to him and he winked in response.

Fred scratched his chin. "Hmm… I wonder." he said sarcastically. "Its got to be Kace. You've got hands colder than death."

I frowned and pulled my hands back, letting them fall back to my sides.

He turned and smiled at me. His eyes skimmed my body in a way that made me blush. He took one of my hands and pulled me into a hug. I had dreamt about this hug since I had stopped talking to Fred last year. I allowed my eyes to close and when they opened again, I realized more time had passed than most hugs lasted. Fred was still holding me tight, though, and he was slowly spinning from side to side.

George and Penny had looked away and were now inspecting who had come with who to the dance.

"You wanna dance?" Fred asked, pulling away.

I nodded and followed him out into the center of the slowly moving couples. He pulled me close again, his arms wrapped around my waist. I extended my arms and wrapped them up around his neck. I leaned my head on his chest and he rested his cheek on the top of my head.

"I've been meaning to talk to you." Fred started. I could hear his voice echoing deep in his chest.

"About?" I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew.

"The mirror." he whispered in my ear.

I closed my eyes and waited for him to say something about how it was stupid of me to want him, stupid of me to think I loved him, stupid of me to let him know.

"I saw the same thing."

I felt my eyes widen and I pulled back. "What?" I was in shock. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined Fred Weasley feeling the same way for me as I did for him.

"You heard me." he said, smiling at me.

I felt my heart jump around in my chest for a few minutes.

The rest of the night was a blur of dancing, swirling dresses, and Fred's smile.


	6. Reunion

FRED'S POV:

Nothing happened between Kace and I for the rest of the year, much to my dismay. We agreed that the whole mirror thing had probably just been a fluke. I only agreed because she had said it and I didn't want to seem stupid. She probably honestly thought it.

Dolores Umbridge had come to observe at Hogwarts on behalf of the Ministry and was teaching DADA classes. George and I couldn't get enough of pestering her. Soon, though, she became too much to handle. George and I dropped out of school and planned on opening a joke shop in Diagon Alley. I was sad to leave but I knew it had to be done. I was only sad because this was where Kace was.

I remembered seeing her face as George and I flew away on our brooms in the direction of Diagon Alley. She was smiling widely, appreciating the fireworks display along with the rest of the crowd that had gathered for the Weasley Twins' Last Stand as Hogwarts students.

Every day, I found myself thinking about her and wishing I hadn't left, but knowing it would be better in the long run, without really knowing how. Every night, I dreamt about her and me in the room with the mirror. I tossed and turned at night, trying to get to sleep before the tears came. But they always beat me to it.

Finally, though, my dreams of being reunited with my first love came true.

It was during shop hours. These were the times that made me more sad than usual. Because I had to put on a fake smile and pretend nothing was wrong. I was pretty sure George knew what was going on with me, but he was a good enough brother and friend not to ask.

I was walking around the shop, giving advice to the Hogwarts students who were school shopping and had come to see what all the hype was about our shop. They were all kids we knew and that made it much easier to relate the buyer to the product. I had just sold a kid on some gag toy or another and was walking around, looking for another costumer.

That's when the bell over the door rang and I heard that laugh. The one that even now haunted me in my dreams.

I looked up into the glare of the sunlight off of the glass door. There she was. Kace stood in a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee and a few scuffs and a tight T-shirt with a bunny on it. Her hair was much longer and came to the back of her knees. My breath was taken away for a moment. She was so beautiful and she had probably completely forgotten about me.

Penny and another girl I didn't recognize were with her and they were joking around and laughing.

I smiled and walked forward, ready to talk to her again. She was facing away, examining a table full of products. I tapped her on the shoulder.

She spun, her hair whipping around in a wave of black. Her eyes widened at first and she smiled. "Fred." she breathed.

"Hey, bestest buddy." I muttered, blushing under her gaze.

I put an arm on her shoulder and pulled her forward, enveloping her in a full hug. She squeezed me back. It was so odd to feel her and smell her and hear her after all this time thinking I would never get to be with her again and then to have her here in my arms. Time slowed to a crawl as I reveled in the sensation of having her close.

I finally let go and she stepped back, running a hand through her incredibly long hair. "I cant believe its you!" she gushed.

"Look at your hair. Its so long!" I said, picking up a strand and letting it fall back.

She made a face and smoothed it out. "Yeah, well, its like my baby now and I cant being myself to cut it." she said, stroking it lovingly.

"Its great to see you." I said after a short pause.

"Its good to see you too." she said, sounding completely sincere.

I smiled, my heart pounding fiercely.

"Who is this, KC?" A tall guy with blond hair and light skin walked up and put his arm around Kace's shoulders.

She nonchalantly shrugged it off. "This is Fred Weasley. He left the school last year, remember?" Kace said, making it obvious that she didn't care much for his jerk-like tone.

"Oh, so you're a drop-out?" he asked.

Kace elbowed him in the gut.

"Fred!" I heard George yell from behind the counter.

I turned to see him trying to ward off more customers than he could handle.

Behind me I could hear the guy saying, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't be such a jerk, Cormac." she said quietly.

So that was Cormac McLaggen? Kace? My Kace was dating this -

"Well, I've got to get back to work. It was good seeing you again, Kace. You should come by more often, I've missed you a lot." I said, winking.

Cormac's face turned an unattractive shade of red. So he was jealous was he? Good.

KACE'S POV:

Cormac McLaggen was the most possessive, obnoxious friend ever. But he had his moments. Many people thought we were a couple, but he was just a creep who wouldn't leave me alone. I hoped, too late, that Fred knew that we weren't together like that. He was already expertly maneuvering through the crowd of excited kids.

I frowned after him.

"He calls you Kace?" Cormac asked with a jealous tone.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to what I had been doing before Fred had shown up and made this the best day I had had in a while.

"So how do you two know each other?" Cormac asked, moving around to the other side of the table so I had to look at him.

I took a moment to think back to all of the time we had spent together and all of the things we had talked about and all of the times he had been there for me. "He's my best friend." I said almost inaudibly.

Cormac stared heatedly at the boy behind the counter.


	7. George's Inncident

FRED'S POV:

I ran inside the house, hoping George was okay. If he wasn't, I didn't know what I would do.

George was laying on the couch, a hand over his ear and mum leaning over his body, hiding most of him from view. She moved aside and I ran to the couch, kneeling next to him.

"How're you feeling, Georgie?" I asked quietly as mum stroked his hair back away from his sweaty face.

There was a gaping hole where George's ear should have been and it was covered in blood. I tried my hardest to keep my breakfast down.

"Saint-like." he whispered. It was obviously taking a lot for him to say just that much.

"Come again?" I asked, confused.

"Saint-like. I'm holey for it." he said, half smiling and pointing to the hole.

I almost laughed a little, but my voice trembled when I responded with, "The whole wide world of ear-related humor and you go for 'I'm holey'? Its pathetic."

"Reckon I'm still better looking than you." he said.

I shook my head and stood again, thinking that if he had enough strength to joke around, he would pull through. After everyone made absolutely sure George would be okay, we all tried to get some rest.

That night, there was a creaking of boards just near the door to my bedroom. I jumped and grabbed the closest thing to me to try to defend myself. It was a jacket and wouldn't have done much good in a fight anyway, so it was a good thing it wasn't a death eater.

"Wait, its okay, its just me!" I heard a familiar voice whisper.

I rubbed my eye and pulled out my wand to be sure I wasn't just imagining that voice.

"Lumos." I whispered, causing the tip of my wand to light up a bright blue.

Sure enough, there she was, completely different once more. But this time it wasnt her appearance that was different.

"Kace? What are you doing here?" I asked, turning on the lamp beside my bed and sitting on the edge of my bed.

She was different. Her hair was still insanely long and she still had about the same body shape, but she was more tall and her face was more serious than ever. She seemed harder, like she had gotten more tough. She had been through more than I had assumed.

"I just got here. Your mum told me to come up. Things at Hogwarts are not going very smoothly. And that's even more so than usual." Her voice filled the darkness and my heart beat hard against my chest.

"Fred?" Kace asked, taking one of my hands in both of her small ones. "I've missed you a lot. I didn't know if I would get to see you again. With how crazy things have been getting, I was worried that you might…" she broke off and bit her bottom lip, unable to say anymore.

I cupped her cheek and made her look back up into my eyes. "Its okay. I'm here now, alright?"

She looked like she was about to cry as she flung herself into my arms. I held her for a moment, shocked.

"So I'm guessing you heard about George?" I asked, trying to awkwardly break the silence that hadn't been entirely uncomfortable.

She nodded. When she spoke, she sounded broken. "I kept thinking, 'what if that had been Fred? What would I have done?'" she explained.

It made me happy to know that she cared that much. But it made me sad to know that I could hurt her so bad.

"Do you want to stay here with me tonight?" I asked softly after a long pause.

She nodded and hugged me tighter.

I shifted around, laying on my back with her arms around my midsection. I had an arm around her shoulders and I used the other hand to pull the covers up around us.

She was shivering like crazy.

I stared at the ceiling for a while and thought about how lucky I was to have her here with me.

Just as I began nodding off, I whispered, "Kace?"

I could tell she had almost been asleep, too, because when she responded, it was with a sleepy, "Hmm?"

I smiled a little and kissed her forehead. "I've missed you, too."


	8. Wedding Crashers

KACE'S POV:

It was the morning of Bill and Fleur's wedding. I wore a red, strapless dress. My hair hung low and wavy. Due to the waves, it lost length, coming only to the tops of my legs.

I didn't see Fred again until I went outside to the circus tent/wedding scene. He was wearing a black suit and tie and his hair was the same as always, red and short, the front sticking up adorably.

He hadn't seen me yet, so I ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled widely, pulling me into a hug. "You look amazing." he whispered in my ear.

I blushed and looked down as he released me.

The wedding was beautiful and after the exchange of vows, there was music and food and dancing. I sat by Fred during the ceremony and stood by Hermione and Penny during the reception. Ron was throwing obvious looks at her, so I awkwardly found my way back to Fred.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked just as a slow song came on.

I recognized the song as a popular American muggle song. (Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade, I thought.) It was also the song Fred and I had danced to at the Yule Ball before I had run out.

"Sure." I said, smiling.

He took my hand and lead me out onto the dance floor. Falling into step with his arms around me came to me as if by instinct. It was almost second nature to me. I leaned my head on his chest, breathing deep and letting the lyrics of the song take over.

"_Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again._"

Then Fred started singing with the music. "Because a girl like you is impossible to find. You're impossible to find." His deep voice was beautiful in its lilting tenor.

In the middle of our dance, a tremendous crash sounded and there were screams coming from every direction. They had found us. The Death Eaters were here.

Fred grabbed me and pulled me with him up against the edge of the crowd. George, his head in wraps was making his was to us with Penny in tow. I saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione standing strong beside each other, holding each other's hands. When I blinked, they were gone; they had apparated.

"Come on, Kace!" Fred said in my ear, tugging on my hand. I finally followed, still casting anxious glances back at the party, now a blur of lights and smoke.

Before I knew it, we were running. George drug Penny along by the hand. She looked just as shocked as I was. Then George reached back and Fred grabbed his hand…

Then we were hurtling through time and space, not touching anything, but feeling everything like it was part of myself. I finally felt ground beneath my feet and would have sank down onto my knees if I hadn't been being supported by Fred's insistent tugging.

We were still running, but now the Burrow was nowhere in sight. It was a new house that we were looking at now. Well, it was actually quite obviously NOT new, but it was new to me. It was tall and straight but the roof was treacherously leaning inward. The house looked deserted .

"Where are we?" I asked, finally finding my voice when we walked through the door of the rickety building.

"Don't worry," Fred said, holding my shoulders firmly as George pushed the door shut. "We're safe here."

Penny's voice shook when she asked, "What is this place?" She was pale and shivering.

George sat her on a dusty-looking couch and draped his coat over her shoulders. "This place has been abandoned since we were little kids." George explained, looking around at the dirt-coated ceiling.

"We went out exploring one night and wandered too far. We found this place and never told anyone about it. Its in the middle of nowhere. We only found it by accident that once and when we tried looking for it again, we couldn't find it. I guess I thought about this place and this is where we got dumped." Fred told us.

I shivered and Fred put an arm around me. I put my arms around him but under his coat.

That night, we slept in the main room of the house beside a large fire lit in the fireplace. Fred held me to sleep and George did the same for Penny.

When I woke up in the middle of the night, I heard Fred singing very quietly. "Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you…"


	9. The Spider, The Mom, and the Closet

FRED'S POV:

Things went on the same for a few weeks. We all took care of each other and tried to believe things were normal. We stayed in the living room and kitchen for the most part and only ever went outside in daylight and in pairs. We were happy (or at least pretended to be okay) and tried not to ask questions like, "What happened to our family?"

One day, Kace and I were in the kitchen filling up cups with water and I could barely hear George and Penny talking their feelings over in the living room. It was a normal day in the old abandoned house we had claimed.

Then, the door of the old place was blown in with impressive force.

I spun quickly and took Kace by the shoulders, pushing her into a closet and closing the door. Luckily, she didn't try to protest. If it was all I could do, I would try my hardest to stall our attackers and save her.

I squeezed myself up against a wall and slunk my way to the corner of the kitchen that was closest to the front door. I hoped George and Penny were hidden safely and grabbed my wand, ready to duel anyone who posed a threat.

But as I rounded the corner, I saw not a Death Eater, but my mother.

I dropped my wand, shocked. "Mum?" I asked, my voice distant.

She spun around, eyes wide. "Oh, George!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms open and hugging me tearfully.

Then, another closet door opened and George, with his arm around Penny, peeked out and said, "Hey, I'm George!"

Mum laughed and said, "I guess I really should've known what with th-the…" She made a vague gesture to her ear and then dropped her hand, running to George and hugging him.

The height difference in the two almost made me laugh. But mum still had tears on her cheeks, so I held my laughter.

Someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to see a very disgruntled-looking Kace standing with her hands on her hips and a few cobwebs in her hair and some dust on her shirt. I heard George, Penny, and my mother laugh quietly.

"Oh, um, Kace?" I said, seeing something she couldn't.

She cocked a brow, obviously still annoyed and said, "What?"

I pointed to the top of her head and said, "There's a spider on your head."

Her eyes widened as she slowly lifted her hand to the top of her head.

The spider wasn't very big, but to a girl it was humongous.

George and Penny snickered and mum covered her mouth in a small giggle.

When her hand touched the furry thing, she screamed and jumped around, trying to bat the thing off her head. It was funny watching her hop around and squeal, but when the spider was safely out of reach of her head, she glared at me.

I coughed and smoothed out my features and stopped laughing.

Mum told us everything that had happened after we left. Everyone was fine, but Ron, Hermione, and Harry were missing still. We all figured the "Golden Trio" was off on another world-saving adventure. It would make sense with all of the Death Eater activity lately. After all of the explaining was done, mum took us all back home to the burrow. When a few days had passed, Hermione, Harry, and Ron showed back up and told us our next task.

It was time to go back to school.


	10. The Battle of HogwartsThe End

FRED'S POV:

We gathered in the Great Hall where Snape had been threatening every student still at school to betray Potter's position. When Harry spoke up, me and the rest of the gang that hadn't been at school this whole time had walked out into the hall, making a sort of human blockade in front of the door. Then Snape and McGonagall had fought it out, McGonagall winning when Snape fled. When Snape had left, McGonagall began giving out orders for the defense of the castle.

George and I were assigned to defend the castle's secret passageways. Penny and Kace were told to help up in the astronomy tower. We walked out of the Great Hall together for the last time before the battle.

Before we turned the corner, I told George and Penny, "You guys keep going, we'll catch up."

I turned back to Kace who was looking at me in a confused manner. I grabbed her hand. This was it. It was now or never.

"One of us might not make it through tonight." I started, looking intently into her eyes. I held one of her hands and used my other hand to hold her face in my palm. "And if that happens, there's something I want you to know." I could see the tears building at the edge of my eyes.

Her confusion turned to a look of concern. "Fred, what is it?" She squeezed my hand gently, sounding like she might cry herself.

"Kace, I love you. I've always loved you. All those times I couldn't see you, it made my heart hurt. I fell asleep thinking about you and when I woke up I remembered dreaming about you still with me. I don't know if I can live without you and I don't want to find out. So please, Kace, whatever you do, don't die tonight." By this point, the tears had spilled over.

She stood with her mouth open, but no words came out. Her eyes were blank and she blinked a couple times.

I looked down, ready for disappointment.

"Fred." she said, putting a hand on the side of my face and lifting my gaze back to her. Now, her eyes were soft. "Only if you promise you wont die either."

I nodded once and then pulled her into a hug, unable to stand how far apart we were. She squeezed me and I heard a small sob come out of her.

"Fred?" she whispered close to my ear.

"Yeah?" I asked, also whispering.

She pulled her head back and looked me right in the eye. "Kiss me."

I looked deeper into her eyes and saw the girl I had seen that night when I was looking for my little brother. She was still beautiful and still made my heart jump around the same way she had all those years ago.

I looked down to her mouth and knew I was ready for this. All of my indecision and awkwardness went away for a moment as I leaned closer.

Finally, our mouths met. It was everything I had ever dreamed it would be and more. Her lips were soft and she grabbed the back of my head, latching her fingers onto my hair. I squeezed my arms (still around her) tighter and made sure I had a good grip on her before lifting her off the ground. She giggled against my mouth. The whole world, the war, the ever-present threat of Voldemort all slid from my mind and there was only Kace and I.

Eventually, I set her back down and she pulled her mouth away, burying her face in my chest. "I love you too." Kace whispered almost too quietly to hear.

I planted one more kiss on her lips and whispered, "Goodbye Kace." then I turned and ran after George.

KACE'S POV:

Through the entire battle, I couldn't stop thinking about Fred. I hoped to any God that was listening that Fred wouldn't be hurt. Luckily, it didn't distract me.

Finally, the Death Eaters stopped coming and the sounds of battle receded. Penny and I made our way back to the Great Hall.

I looked around bleary-eyed. Many were dead our wounded. More were dead than wounded, though.

At the end of the Hall, I saw the Weasleys all huddled around a body in the floor. I couldn't see who it was, but I felt tears start streaming down my face. All I could think was that Fred would be devastated.

Then they looked up, sympathy strong in their red eyes.

"No." I heard myself say in a raspy voice.

Molly Weasley looked down at her feet and a few more tears fell.

I looked down to the body, blocked from view by George and Harry. I pushed passed George and collapsed next to Fred's pale, still body.

I grabbed one of his ice-cold hands and cried, whispering, "Fred? Fred, wake up. Please, Fred. I'm here now. Please wake up, Fred. Fred!"

Molly hugged me tightly, sobbing with me. He wasnt asleep. He wouldn't wake up. Because Fred, MY Fred, was dead.

The thought made my chest tighten painfully.

The rest of Fred's family left and I stayed, watching Fred's motionless body with a dismal expression. I finally decided to leave, so I leaned over Fred's body and kissed him on the forehead.

"I love you, Fred Weasley." I whispered, walking out of the Great Hall and away from the only man I ever loved.


End file.
